"Johnny B Good" wrote in message ...
On Thu, 15 Feb 2018 09:17:15 +0000, Andrew Mawson wrote:
"Andrew Mawson" wrote in message news:...
"Johnny B Good" wrote in message
...
Andrew Mawson wrote:
OK wrong forum I know but there are a lot of knowledgeable people
on this forum 
I need some software that will run under DOS 6.22 that will allow
me to copy files to a CD/DVD-ROM Drive. This is on a legacy CNC
machine - I'm replacing a dying Viglen PC where the only
exchangeable media is 4.5" Floppy for a Compac DC7600 SFF PC that I
have which also has CD/DVD read / write drive that would be very
handy for data exchange.
NB this is running genuine DOS 6.22 NOT a DOS window under Windoze
!
Any pointers very welcome !
Andrew
If he can supply a bit more info on how this PC interfaces to the CNC
machine, we might even be able to advise him on setting up
virtualisation software[1] running under the SFF's original winXP Host
OS (or even under a Linux host), assuming a serial or printer port was
used for the CNC interface, which can be passed through[2] to a suitably
configured VM clone of the MSDOS 6.22 installation as it was originally
set up on the old Viglen.
--
Johnny B Good
Johnny,
A/ The original Viglen is fully functional but mechanically a write off
Is the Viglen so proprietary that it isn't possible to transplant the
motherboard and other component parts into an industry standard ATX case?
B/ The Viglen runs DOS 6.2 and has a floppy drive and HDD and two serial
ports
C/ One serial port is for an operators panel, the other is for the
machine CC controller
Ok then, so no special proprietary adapters required then. Just a bog
standard ATX desktop PC then.
D/ I took an MSBACKUP of the VIGLEN HDD under DOS6.2 on 13 floppies
As I've already said, "Ouch!"
E/ The COMPAC DC7600 SFF was running Windows 7 and has floppy, SATA HDD
and CD/DVD writer, one serial port and a network 10/100 port and 4 Gb
RAM
So still relatively vintage hardware then. Mind you, this looks a higher/
later spec than the one I had googled (which claimed winXP as the OEM
installed OS). Does the FDD use an actual Shugart 34 pin interface on the
MoBo or is is simply a USB version connected to one of the internal USB
headers?
F/ I Repartitioned and formatted its HDD and loaded DOS 6.22 from the
three original Microsoft disks.
Ok, so no different to the process of installing it into a Virtual
Machine then. :-)
G/ I copied the full DOS 6.2 MSBACKUP suite to a folder on the DC7600
Ah! The utter simplicity of "installing" a basic dos app. :-)
H/ I ran DOS 6.2 MSBACKUP under DOS 6.22 and restored all the VIGLEN
files to the DC7600 EXCEPT the DOS folder
So far, so good.
I/ (You need to know the MSBACKUP 6.22 cannot read MSBACKUP 6.2
floppies)
This was par for the course with Microsoft. :-(
J/ At this stage I had a fully functional DC7600 running DOS 6.22 and
the original controller software from the VIGLEN (except it only had one
serial port)
In the I/O shield but there's probably a second com port header on the
MoBo waiting for a DB9 or DB25 connector to be plugged in. If not, then
you'll need a PCI serial port adapter card, assuming there is a spare PCI
slot - the specs page I was looking at neglected to mention this. :-(
K/ Being an SFF I needed a small form factor PCI serial card - the only
one I could source with DOS drivers was a StarTech PEX2S5521P
Before spending the dosh, just make sure that there really isn't a
second serial port option header on the MoBo - see above.
L/ The machine now has three serial ports and I just need to configure
the IRQ to match the original
Ah, too late then for my fine advice above. :-(
AFAICR, there were only two IRQ options for the serial ports. You may
have to share an IRQ line with between the third port and one of the
first two ports.
M/ I sourced some DOS drivers for the CD/DVD which allowed me to read
but not write CDs
N/ This is when I posted asking for assistance for DOS software to WRITE
CDs so that the machine files can easily be transferred in future.
FSVO "easily". Unless you're playing ultra-safe by deliberately not
networking any of your computers, a network file sharing solution
geberally represents a FLVO "easier" kind of solution than flinging CDs
around the premises.
O/ I have (Thanks to TIM) loaded a USB stick with Linux MINT and K3B CD
software allowing me not only to boot up MINT and generate CD's but also
connect to my network and transfer files that way !!!
You do realise that if you *installed* Linux Mint[1], you could install
Oracle's VirtualBox and set up a DOS virtual machine into which you could
install MSDOS 6.22 from those dos install disks seeing as how you've got
an actual floppy disk drive to insert them into. :-)
P/ The only oddity left is that the CDs generated read properly under
MINT in the DC7600 and also und WIN7 on another machine but under DOS
6.22 in the DC7600 are rather flaky and rarely read ok.
That could be for any number of reasons so I won't attempt to second
guess what the issue is or where the problem lies.
Q/ I am assuming this is due to the DOS drivers I'm using (can't name
them at the moment as I'm on a different PC).
Seems unlikely since, if this was the case, one could expect a more
consistent failure mode than mere 'flakiness' which suggests a problem
with the CD/DVD rom drive which might be compatibility issues with the
recordable media or else laser calibration issues or similar.
Thank you all for your assistance but I do feel that some are digging
deeper than required - all I was asking was to be able to write CDs
under DOS 6.22 so perhaps someone may have know of a DOS application to
do this
I'm afraid my last adventures with MSDOS 6.22 were over two decades ago
now and my memories of the nitty gritty details of this sort of fettling
are now rather faded. Perhaps if I'd felt nostalgic enough to create a
DOS VM to experiment with DOS 6.22, I might have been able to offer
better advice than just vague hints but I'm afraid I can't, other than to
suggest you try posting to uk.comp.homebuilt where you may find more
expertise from those with sharper recollections than mine (possibly even
fresh memories if any "Retro Computing" enthusiasts have been recently
experimenting with virtualised instances of DOS to 're-live the DOS
experience' of their youth).
[1] If you want to try installing VirtualBox, it doesn't have to be a
Linux host OS, You can install it on a windows machine (and win7 is
probably the optimum choice for this) and experiment with a DOS 6.22
virtual machine guest which can be copied to almost any other PC running
VirtualBox. You said you had a few of these SFF machines to hand, so why
not set another one up as a test bed and give it a go?
As I mentioned earlier, Virtualisation was more or less invented to
solve the very problem you're trying to tackle. Unless there's some
compelling need/advantage to sneakernet the data around via the medium of
CDROMs, it seems a little churlish to say the least to ignore what may
possibly prove to be the easiest and most flexible solution.
At least, if you do set up another machine to experiment with
virtualisation, there's nothing to stop you continuing with your current
quest to get the existing SFF DOS box writing to CD-R media. That way if/
when you reach an impasse with one project, you can turn to the other
until you succeed or else get fed up by hitting another dead end by which
time, the respite from the first may have provided a new insight to its
problem. It's surprising how such breaks can make something suddenly
click in your mind to reveal a sought after solution.
Johnny,
Frustratingly the DC7600 / SFF manual refers to an option cable to add a
second serial port, which looks to be just a 9 pin D type and bracket to a
'dual row of pins' header socket. These are available on eBay but cost as
much as my serial port card and search as I may THERE IS NO CORRESPONDING
HEADER on the mother board - believe me I've searched several SFF m/bs. - I
suspect it applies to the desktop version of the DC7600 and the manual is
wrong !!!